Problem: If the sales tax in your city is $4.2\%$, how much tax would you pay for an item that costs $\$177$ before tax? Round to the nearest cent.
In order to find the amount of sales tax you would pay, multiply the sales tax by the original price of the item. ${4.2\%} \times {\$177} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $4.2\%$ is equivalent to $4.2 \div 100$ $4.2 \div 100 = 0.042$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. Round to the nearest cent. $0.042$ $\times$ $$177$ = $$7.43$ You would pay $$7.43$ in sales tax.